A strong vocabulary is the foundation for reading comprehension. In fact, vocabulary is the foundation of all areas of literacy - listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Since increasing and developing a student's vocabulary will improve his or her overall reading comprehension, research recommends teaching students the parts of words. Beginning at third grade, the national standards require that students use their knowledge of prefixes and suffixes to determine the meaning of words, and that they use their knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of unknown words within a passage.

By using the activities in Prefixes and Suffixes, your students will become increasingly more confident in their ability to understand larger words as they become more comfortable with "dissecting" words and defining the parts of words. They will also start using vocabulary words you teach in their oral language and in their writing. The key is incorporating ongoing review activities and games into your everyday curriculum. The activities in this resource incorporate all areas of literacy to maximize the transfer of vocabulary into your students' reading comprehension.